The Law of Attraction gained widespread media attention when the book (2006) and film (2007) The Secret came out. They were discussed in a wide array of diverse outlets from Saturday Night Live to the Oprah show. It seemed everyone had an opinion about it.
To first learn about the Law of Attraction from a SNL skit...it's a little hard to take it seriously, understandably so. I believe that The Secret did a great job getting the information widespread....but I also think it was done in a way that showed a little too much "mystical" power that came across as "hokey". For someone who already knew quite a bit about the law of attraction at the time, I loved it....but I could see past that because I already had a base knowledge on the subject. I often wondered what my reaction to it would have been if that was my first introduction to it, because SO many were introduced to it this way....hard to say.
Honestly, because of my personal experience with it, I believe that the Law of Attraction comes into your life when you attract it into your life...when you are ready for it. That is what it's all about after all. I've heard many people say that they had heard of it...but it wasn't until a later time in their life that it actually impacted their life. In preparing to do this blog post...one that I've been looking forward to doing...I have heard from two different people telling me that The Law of Attraction is beginning to make an impact of their lives. That makes me so happy because I believe with everything I am that it works. Well, that's the thing....it works whether you believe it or not. It's Universal Law. I've studied The Law of Attraction, through books and seminars to some extent for the past 11 years. It's a very deep subject that can take time to discuss...I will try to stick to the basics for this reason.
So what is it? The Law of Attraction states that: That which is like unto itself, is drawn; like attracts like. Have you ever woken, feeling unhappy, and then throughout the day things get worse and worse, and at the end of the day you feel like you shouldn't have ever gotten out of bed? That is the Law of Attraction at work.
We are all made up of energy. Our thoughts become things. The Law of Attraction is always working....think of yourself like a magnet. Nothing merely shows up in our experience, we attract it. All of it - no exceptions. This is usually the part that people have trouble with at first..."Why would I attract anything negative in my life??"... we believe it shouldn't come to us because it's not wanted. Well, the Law of Attraction does not discriminate. It has no knowledge of wanted or unwanted...positive or negative...it just delivers. What you think about YOU BRING ABOUT whether you want it or not. So how do we use the Law of Attraction to our advantage?
The very first thing we need to know is HOW to know what you are attracting at any given moment. We know this by the way we are feeling. Our Inner Being communicates with us through our emotions. Our Inner Being always offers a perspective that is to your greatest advantage; our Inner Being is our True Self (some call this Source Energy). Our emotional guidance system is our indicator to our point of attraction. If we are feeling a positive emotion, we are attracting what we want, because we are a match to our Inner Being. If we are feeling a negative emotion, we are attracting something unwanted, because we are not a match to our Inner Being. The more disconnected we are from our Inner Being, the worse we feel...and the worse we behave.
It can be difficult to try to start monitoring your thoughts all the time!! We are always having thoughts, even when we are unaware. Instead of trying to monitor them, simply start paying attention to how you are feeling! This is the most powerful and fun thing to start playing with. Just know this: when you are giving thought in a direction of something that you want, you will feel positive emotion; when you are giving thought in a direction of something that you do now want, you will feel negative emotion. Simply by paying attention, you will know, at all times, the direction from which your powerful magnetic self is attracting the subject of whatever you are giving thought to. That's powerful knowledge there!!! That's exciting....just having that knowledge will start you on your way to deliberately creating the life you deserve.
Things aren't manifested immediately. You can change your point of attraction on any subject. When you give thought to anything, it starts to gain momentum in as little as 17 seconds. So if you start to feel negative emotion, try to think of something positive so the negativity doesn't gain momentum. The more momentum you gain, the harder it is to change. This works for the positive also so that's the good news!
I know this can be hard, especially in certain circumstances life grief. One way to do this is to think about something in your life you are grateful for. Get away from the specifics of what is causing the negative emotion and think of something generally positive. Start saying simple, general things that bring you any feeling of relief of that negative emotion. Once you do this longer and longer, you will create a momentum toward the positive. If you are having a negative day and cannot seem to get out of it....don't worry, when we sleep, we reset. Just try again upon waking...that's the best time to get a good fresh start. Take a couple of moments to think about what you are grateful for...then go about your day. Do this again the next morning, imagining your day exactly as you'd like it to unfold, feel the way it would feel if you had the perfect day. In time, things will begin to shift. These moments of focused thought are more powerful because you are deliberately thinking...more powerful than many of the thoughts that don't really cause positive or negative emotion. Remember this takes practice, and time. Think of planting a seed. You water it and tend to it. Things are happening beneath the soil you cannot see...yet. Don't quit watering it...in time, it will bloom!
Like I said, once you have this knowledge, start using it!! I do this all the time. If I catch myself being negative, talking negative about other or MYSELF...it doesn't feel good. I catch it, and turn it around. Find the positive. Here are some simple examples...
When driving, how easy would it be to get angry at another driver who pulled out in front of you? Would it affect you? Would you honk and yell? OR....would you back off, let them go with the thought, "there must be a reason they are in such a hurry....I hope they get there safely". Two totally different feelings. Which one would benefit you more?
When driving down a busy street late for your dinner reservation...which would serve you better? To say, "There's NEVER anywhere to park!! We are NEVER going to get there on time!" OR "Everything always works out for me...I love that I ALWAYS find the PERFECT parking spot." Trust me, this works!! But if you just say the words without feeling behind it...nothing will change! In time, if you think this positive way regularly, you will regularly get the best parking spot!
Just start seeing the positive in things and see how your life shifts. Pay attention to the way you are feeling...start checking in with yourself throughout the day. If it's negative, take a moment and "self-talk" your way to a more positive feeling. This does not mean you have to end up absolutely joyful in that moment....the key is to find relief from the negative emotion. You can learn more about the 22 stages of the emotional guidance system in the book "Ask and It Is Given" by Esther and Jerry Hicks. The key is to just move up that emotional scale....for example, Anger gives you a feeling of relief form Revenge. Blame gives you a feeling of relief from Anger. Pessimism gives you a feeling of relief from Irritation. Hopefulness gives you a feeling of relief from Pessimism. This goes all the way from the bottom of the scale which is #22: Fear/Grief/Depression/Despair/Powerlessness to #1: Joy/Knowledge/Empowerment/Freedom/Love/Appreciation.
The Law of Attraction is so interesting to me, because I've seen it at work. That's an amazingly powerful feeling. When you learn to "deliberately create" the life that you want, you notice the little things happening, shifting in your favor. You learn that there are no coincidences. We don't meet people by accident. They are meant to cross our path for a reason. The Law of Attraction has been written about since the early 1900's. The very first book I ever read about the Law of Attraction was "Excuse Me, Your Life Is Waiting" by Lynn Grabhorn. This was about 5 years before The Secret came out. It was very simply explained...it's still my favorite book I own, only because I KNOW that I attracted that book into my life at a time I really needed it. At the time, I had no idea, but now I look back at how unhappy I was at that time...I was searching for something to change my life. The Law of Attraction is still making an impact on my life today...it helped me to start this website! (See that blog post here.) In learning more and more over the years, my favorite source is now the Abraham-Hicks books by Esther and Jerry Hicks, which is where I learned the information I'm offering to you here. To name a few of their books...."Ask and It Is Given", "The Law of Attraction-The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham" and "The Vortex". I also subscribe to their CD's of their seminars. They cover questions from real people dealing with death of a loved one, addiction in their families, why people commit crimes, what our purpose is here on earth, how to create the life we want...such a wide range of topics. The way they explain things is so enlightening. They will teach you how to...
- Ask - figure out what you WANT and shoot out your rockets of desire!
- Believe - this isn't even anything to do on your part! As soon as you ask...it's given!!
- Receive - this is the part that takes practice...if you're not a vibrational "match" to what you're really wanting, you're "resisting" and you won't see the manifestation!
I can definitely say the Law of Attraction has changed my life. I encourage you to delve deeper into the subject if it interests you...WAY too much to cover here. Don't be a victim. You have the power to change your life for the better. Remember, if you are reading this...you have attracted this information into your life in one way or another. Use it.
P.S. One way I make sure I start my day off right is starting each day with GRATITUDE. Check out the journal I use to start my day and it only takes FIVE minutes or less. "Gratitude is the magnet for miracles."